ATLANTA — Tenisha Warner, the widow of late actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, has filed a lawsuit against his mother, Pamela Warner, alleging breach of contract related to the couple’s prenuptial agreement.
The complaint, filed Monday in DeKalb County Superior Court in Georgia, names Pamela Warner in her capacity as successor trustee of the Warner Family Trust. It alleges that Malcolm-Jamal Warner failed to fulfill several financial obligations outlined in a premarital agreement the couple signed before their May 23, 2022, wedding.
According to the lawsuit, the actor agreed to purchase and maintain a $1 million term life insurance policy naming Tenisha Warner as the sole beneficiary, establish retirement savings for her, pay her $16,000 annually on their wedding anniversary and provide a $5,000 monthly salary for her role as his chief of staff. The complaint alleges those obligations were never fulfilled.
Tenisha Warner claims she is owed at least $1.27 million, plus interest, attorney’s fees and court costs.
The lawsuit also seeks to prevent Pamela Warner, as trustee, from distributing or transferring trust assets while the case is pending. A second defendant, identified as “John Doe,” was included because no personal representative has been appointed for Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s estate.
In a statement, Tenisha Warner said she had spent the past year trying to settle her husband’s estate privately.
“Malcolm had every intention to provide for our 9-year-old daughter and me,” she said, adding that he had been working on updating an estate plan created in 1996 but died before completing it.
She said filing the lawsuit was necessary to protect her and her daughter’s legal rights before any statute of limitations expired.
Representatives for Tenisha Warner, Pamela Warner and Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s estate did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for portraying Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, died on July 20, 2025, at age 54 after an accidental drowning while swimming off the coast of Costa Rica.